Medical and dental practice often requires the surgical removal of both hard and soft tissue in the treatment of a patient. The removal of damaged tissue or scar tissue is often necessary in order to prevent deterioration of associated or neighboring healthy tissue. For example, in the treatment of periodontal diseases, such as periodontitis, the removal of granulation tissue is necessary in order to arrest further deterioration of both the hard bony tissue and soft gingival tissue. Granulation tissue is the diseased gingival tissue that is attached to the bone around the tooth. The granulation tissue has a stringy consistency and must be removed before the healthy gingival tissue and the bone can regenerate and reattach to the tooth.
The current practice in removing the granulation or scar tissue adjacent a tooth is with the use of a curette. By continually scraping the granulation tissue with the curette, the sinewy tissue fibers are disconnected from the damaged bone and removed. Generally the tissue is scraped by a curette and then suctioned by other equipment to remove the tissue fragments. In some instances, the suction instrument and curette scraping operation is conducted simultaneously.
The removal of granulation tissue by a curette is a time consuming and tedious process, often taking 5-8 minutes per tooth. Depending upon the number of teeth which are afflicted, it can be appreciated that the entire process can be stressful, both for the patient as well as the surgeon.
A tissue grinding bur well adapted for removing granulation tissue is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,153 by Harrel. A bur rotates within a tubular member to which suction is applied. The bur has sharp cutting edges. As the bur rotates within the suction tube, it pulls the sinewy granulation tissue therein and grinds the tissue strands into small particles. The annular edge of the opening in the suction tube is sharpened to facilitate the removal of the granulation tissue from the healthy tissue, as well as from the bone surface.
In both the medical and dental areas of practice, the tissue to be removed is often in a small or very inaccessible location. This is especially true in periodontal operations where the granulation tissue is recessed far below the gingival line, in areas of bone deterioration near the root of the tooth. In this instance it becomes extremely difficult to cut or scrape the granulation tissue and remove it.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that a need exists for an instrument which can remove tissue in a more expedient manner that heretofore known. A further need exists for a tissue removing instrument which is effective to remove tissue in narrow or tight places. Yet another need exists for a tissue removing instrument which wraps the sinewy tissue around a shank so that it can be accumulated thereon and pulled free from the hard bone surface.